soxrox78

At 1:35 today, Clay Buchholz will pitch for Boston as they go for the sweep of the Orioles today.  They are just 0.5 games behind the Yankees.  Today, they are starting young OF Josh Reddick, widely recognized as a top prospect with a great arm and power.  He went 2-4 last night. 

The Red Sox have added C/1B Victor Martinez for big time pitching prospect Nick Hagadone and P Justin Masterson.  Not a bad trade, as they acquire a big bat for a young prospect and Masterson, who, though he had a bright future, is worth giving up for Martinez.  

The Sox need help.  Let's all come to terms on that fact.  They're in a team-wide slump right now, and need a bat, or Roy Halladay.  Washburn or Lee would've been nice, but they've been dealt.  The Sox need to make a deal or they could be in serious trouble.  

A report in the NY Times says that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were among the players in 2003 that tested positive for steroids.  We all knew about Manny, but now we know when he took them.  Now it comes out that David Ortiz has taken steroids as well.  This is sad, terrible news for all of Red Sox Nation.  

The Phillies traded four big prospects for SP Cliff Lee and OF Ben Francisco.  The thing was, none of those prospects include JA Happ, Kyle Drabek, or Dominic Brown, three big prospects the Blue Jays wanted for Halladay.  I am disappointed at this.  If the Phillies were able to get Lee and a young OF for just four prospects good as they may be, the Red Sox should've made a run at Lee.  First off, he will be a lot cheaper than Halladay, and won't be in the same division, which would also make him cheaper.  But this trade should be good for both parties involved, as the Indians replenish their farm system and the Phillies get a real No. 1 pitcher.  

Reports say that the Red Sox turned down a deal from the Indians.  It was Clay Buchholz for Victor Martinez.  Although Epstein has always come through in the past, he is being far too reluctant to give up Buchholz.  I don't care how good he is, we need another bat, and we need it bad.  Trade Lowell. Trade Papi.  I'd be fine with it if we got something back.  I would much rather have LaRoche in the lineup anyways.  The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this was "Wow, we're screwed."  If Epstein isn't willing enough to give up Buchholz for a big slugger who can play C or 1B, we are definitely screwed with the great competition in the division.  

Roy Halladay. Adrian Gonzalez. Victor Martinez. Just a few big names thrown around with "Red Sox" in the same sentence. Do the Red Sox have a good shot at getting any of these guys? Probably not. There were rumors today that the Sox had offered up #1 Prospect Clay Buchholz, No. 2 Prospect Michael Bowden, and a good OF prospect in Ryan Westmoreland for Roy Halladay.  Apparently that was not the case.  I personally think that that would be stupid to give up both big time prospects.  I also think that Bowden is overrated and that they should base a deal around him.  Example: Michael Bowden, Jed Lowrie, Nick Hagadone, and Ryan Westmoreland for Halladay.  Not enough?  Substitute in Josh Reddick for Westmoreland.  Still not enough?  Add in Daniel Bard?  Still not enough?  Well if that's not enough, I would just laugh at the fact that they rejected such a great trade for them and walk away.  As for Gonzalez and Martinez, I won't bother.  The chances of getting either of them seem minimal.  Although I have not heard rumors, I believe the Sox should definitely take looks at other role players from Toronto that go by the names of Alex Rios and Marco Scutaro.  Let's face it, JD Drew is definitely not cutting it, and Nick Green and Lowrie are slumping.  We could use upgrades.  In other news, the Sox (as you may have heard) acquired Chris Duncan from St. Louis for Julio Lugo, acquired Adam LaRoche from Pittsburgh for two minor leaguers, and acquired Brian Anderson from the White Sox for Mark Kotsay.  I think that these moves are all genius moves.  Classic Theo.  Specifically the LaRoche one. The Red Sox are getting a guy that can give Lowell some time off, and he fits the bill for Fenway perfectly.  He is a lefty with opposite field power.  He will get double after double, home run after home run.  In the Lugo deal, they get rid of a huge contract of a player that wasn't doing anything for them, and acquire a low salary guy, who seems like a young Adam Dunn kind of guy, with less power.  The Kotsay move was just because they had too many people on their roster.  Somebody had to go.  Turned out to be an old favorite of mine, Mark Kotsay.  Oh well.  So far I think Epstein has done a great job with these three deals.  I can only hope we get a guy like Cliff Lee or Roy Halladay.  Who knows, maybe Dice-K comes back his old self.  No matter what happens, the Red Sox are simply in a big slump right now, and seem to be slowly creeping out.  I'll post the next time I see a deal or a rumor come up.  

In honor of Training camp, I have started up my blog again, and decided to post my NFL power rankings.  Here goes:

1. Steelers - Defending champs should always be first, no matter the fact I think the Pats are better.  
2. Patriots - Brady seems healthy, and if Adailus Thomas can start to show his skill, I'd put us up there at 1.  
3. Eagles - Good offseason, McNabb healthy, seems like they've got a shot.  
4. Cardinals - Warner is great, and the Fitzgerald/Boldin tandem alone gives you a shot at a ring.  
5. Colts - Peyton Manning.  Any other information needed?  I didn't think so.  
6. Falcons - Ryan is very good, and with Roddy White catching passes, they gotta shot.  
7. Saints - Fixed up the defense so it isn't awful anymore.  If it can perform at an average level, they will win with Brees at QB.  
8. Chargers - Hopefully for them LT still has some left in the tank.  If he does, they will be spectacular.  
9. Ravens - The defense in Baltimore is ridiculous, even without Bart Scott.  My only worry is the wide receivers.  
10. Giants - I think the loss of Plax is gonna make a much bigger impact than most think.  
11. Titans - If Kerry Collins can be solid like he was last year, the Titans can do big things.  
12. Cowboys - Romo is very good, and getting rid of TO should much improve the chemistry on this team.  
13. Bears - Forte and Cutler make the offense solid, the only worry I have is the normally solid Bears defense.  I think they can live far beyond this ranking if it performs like it usually does.  
14. Texans - Matt Shaub to Andre Johnson with Slaton in the backfield should work, and the secondary is the major concern, that's pretty much it though.  
15. Vikings - Great D, and Adrian Peterson is in the backfield.  Only problem is a big one, and it's at QB.  
16. Panthers - Need good play from Delhomme, but Smith is good enough to try and take the team deep into the season.  
17. Dolphins - Too young to win, it seems.  Don't be too surprised to see them closing in on a 5 or 6 seed, though.  
18. Packers - Aaron Rodgers is terrific, and he has Driver to throw to.  If they can transition to a 3-4 and Ryan Grant can produce, they should be good.  
19. Bills - Better team, but still not that great.  Let's see what TO does, now with major competition for a No. 1 WR spot, against Lee Evans.  
20. Bengals - Not a bad defense, but the loss of Houshmanzadeh (or however the heck you spell it) is big.  Hopefully OchoCinco and Carson Palmer and produce.  
21. Seahawks - Hope Hasselbeck's back is better...
22. Buccaneers - Depends on the play from the QB, whomever it may be.  
23. Jaguars - Simply too young.  
24. Redskins - Haynesworth better prove his worth (no pun intended).  
25. Jets - Depends on Sanchez.  If it turns out he needs a year or more to become a good QB in this league, and they have to rely on Clemens, no shot at all. 
26. 49ers - Michael Crabtree should be a force.  If Shaun Hill or Alex Smith can simply get him the ball a few times a game, Frank Gore can take care of the rest.  
27. Broncos - McDaniels may have been great as a QB Coach and coordinator in Foxborough, but he's destroyed this team.  Hopefully for them Orton can just get the ball to Marshall and Royal.  Maybe then their season won't be too embarrassing.  
28. Chiefs - I thought the Cassel trade was unnecessary, what with Thigpen doing so well towards the end.  Vrabel should help solid up the D just a big.  They won't be good, but I see a team that has a chance in a few years if they continue to improve their defense.  
29. Raiders - I can't believe I'm putting a team that took Darrius Heyward-Bey ahead of Michael Crabtree this high.  If Russell can produce, they've got a team that's not as bad as it used to be, but still not close to .500.  
30. Rams - Steven Jackson has the potential to stop this from being a completely awful season.  
31. Browns - Winslow gone.  Anderson and Quinn with one less target to throw to.  Defense=Failure.  Good luck.  
32. Lions - Don't care how good the draft was, you still went 0-16 last year.  

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